And fred kv



(No Model.)

5 P. P. CHENEY.

RUFFLER FOR SEWING MACHINES.

/atented Jan. 17,1882.

I G, INVENTOR U ITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

FREDERICK P. CHENEY, OF CLOVER, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR TO THE DAUNT- LESSMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NORWALIQOHIO, AND FRED N.

CHENEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 252,355, dated January17, 1882.

RUFFL'ER FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

Application filed August 30, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK PORTER CHENEY, of Glover, in the county ofOrleans and State of Vermont, have invent-ed certain new and usefulImprovements in Rufflers for Sewing-Machines; and I do hereby declarethe following to .be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a device of this characterwhich shall combine 1 5 simplicity of construction and ease of operationwith durability and efficiency in use, and which shall be adapted to bemanufactured and supplied to the trade at a low initial cost. With thisobject in view my invention con- 2o sists in certain details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafterdescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanyingdrawings. Figure 1 is a view showing my improvedruffler attached in operative adjustment to the side of a sewing-machineface-plate. Fig. 2 is an inside perspective view of the ruftler as itappears when detached from the machine,'and Fig. 3 is a similar view ofa modified form of my im- 0 provement. I

The device is attached to the face-plateota sewing-machine by means of aplatc,-A, to the lower end of which thedepending oscillating arm B ishinged. The said plate A may be 3 5 secured to the face-plate of thesewing-machine in any desired manner, the desideratnm bein g to providedevices by means of which it may be easily and quickly secured thereto,and as readily removed therefrom. In thedraw- 4o ings the plate A isshown as being provided with an open horizontal slot, 0, adapted toreceive a screw, or a stud permanently secured to the side of theface-plate, and with a perforation, D, to receive a removablethumb-screw. The described adaptation enables the device to be securedin position securely enough for all purposes, and has the merit of beingvery simple; but other methods of securing the device to the machine maybe resorted to, if desired.

The depending arm B, pivotally secured to the lower end of the plate A,is provided on its right side with a plate, E, which may be ,madeintegral with or secured to it; but for which retains the needle inposition therein.

The front wall of the guideway is formed by the solid bar G, whichconstitutes the outer edge of the plate E, while its inner wall isformed by the portion H of the plate and by the arm I, pivotally securedto the depending lug J, and adapted to swing to and fro in the openspace K. The lug J, to the inner face of which the arm I is pivoted, isbentoutwardly a distance equal to its own thickness, so that the innerfaces of the plate andarm will present an unbroken plane. On account ofthis construction it is necessary to bend the lower end of the arminwardly, as at L; andin order that its rearward motion may be limitedto a point at which its outer edge makes a perpendicular line with theupper portion of the rear wall of the guideway, this bend L is made totake such inclined form aswill adapt the arm to look at the desiredpoint with the lower edge'ot the space K. The rear edge of the said armis provided with' an inwardly-projecting shoulder, M, against which aset-screw, N, mouned in a sleeve or burr, 0, located in the arm B,impinges.

The lower extremity, P, of the arm B is bent inwardly and forms asuitable point for the attachment of the thin and flexible rufliingplateQ, which is provided with slots R, to receive the feeding-plate, andwith a slot, S, to receive 0 the sewing-machine needle. It should beobserved that the said extremity P of the arm B is bent to form aslightly-obtuse angle with it, so that the plate Q will be slightlyinclined toward the fabric, and thus be adapted to more 5 readily engagewith and carry it forward to form the plaits.

The upper half of the guideway F is located in the same vertical planein which the needlebar reciprocates, and theret'ore,ifor the reason 10othat the motion of the needle-bar in it does not move the arm B, thisportion of the guideway is called the rest. It is also apparent thatwhen the'arm I is in its most remote rearward or locked adjustment, inwhich position it is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the rear wall ofthe guideway coincides with the plane in which the needle-barreeiprocates, and therefore no oscillatory motion will be imparted tothe arm B and its attached parts. When, however, the lower portion ofthe rear wall of the guideway is thrown out of a right line by forcingthe arm I forward, which is accomplished by manipulating the set-screwN, the screw attached to the needle-bar which is received in theguideway will engage in the downward stroke of the bar with the saidlower portion of the rear wall of the guideway and push the arm B andits parts away from the needle, only to carry it toward the needleagain, when in its upward movement the screw engages with the outer wallof the guideway, which presents a fixed inwardly-inclined angle orcurve. The amount of motion to and fro-or, in other words, theoscillatory movement-of the arm B will, of course, depend solely on thedegree of deviation of the rear wall of the guideway from a right line.

The width of the individual plaits, which,

taken together, form ruffles, will directly increase and decreaseaccording as the oscillatory movement of the arms B is more or lesspronounced, and as this is entirely regulated by the set-screw N, it isevident that many styles of work may be done by simply manipulating thesame. v

An important function of the rest or upper portion of the guidewayconsists in allowing the needle-bar to descend far enough to permit thepuncture of the plaits by the needle before the plate Q is withdrawnfrom them by the engagement of the screw with the lower portion of therear wall of the guideway. By Virtue of this feature of operation everyplait is firmly secured in place, and the beauty and strength of theruffling greatly enhanced.

In the modified form of my improvement which is shown in Fig. 3 of'thedrawings an elastic arm or spring, It, is substituted for the plate Aand arm B; otherwise the device is like that shown in the other figures.The upper end of the armR is adapted to be secured to thesewing-machineface-plate, and for the oscillatory movement of its lowerend its elasticity is depended upon instead of the hinge, as inthe otherform of ruffler. As the screw of the needle-bar descends'iu theguideway, it has to overcome the spring force of the arm before it cancarryit forward, but as the bar rises the arm will return to its normalposition unaided.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a ruffler for sewing-machines, the co mbination, with an armadapted to be secured to the face-plateof asewing-machine, ofa plate, E,having the depending arm J and guideway F, an arm, I, pivoted to the armJ, and adjustable by means of a thumb-screw, N, substantially as setforth.

2. In a ruffler for sewing-machines, the combination, with theneedle-bar and screw or stud attached thereto, of an arm adapted to besocured to the face plate of a sewing-machine,

said arm being provided with a plate located at right angles to the arm,the plate being formed with a bar, G, depending arm J, pivoted arm I,having a lateral extension, M, and a set-screw, N, substantially as setforth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand andseal this 23d day of August, 1881.

FREDERICK PORTER CHENEY. [L. s]

Witnesses:

JOHN L. CARR, CHAS. W. 000K.

